Tester Demands President Trump Exempt Firefighters from Hiring Freeze

Following President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum initiating a hiring freeze across federal agencies, United States Senator Jon Tester issued the following statement:

“This order puts Montana’s treasured public lands and forested communities at risk. Folks need to be prepared for fire season and top-down blanket proposals from Washington DC like this undermine our ability to respond to these growing wildfires and our capability to have an efficient and effective workforce. This might be hard for a President from New York City to understand, but in Montana and the West, firefighters help keep our families, homes, and property safe. President Trump needs to make sure that if a wildfire breaks out near Hamilton-or Red Lodge, or any of Montana’s forests-that our communities are not in danger. I’m calling on his administration to exempt firefighters across all agencies for the safety of Montana’s communities.”

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